I have been completely addicted to Cotton Candy Grapes since I first bit into one about a year ago; most grapes just aren’t as sweet as I remember them from my childhood…SOME decades ago! We had a lattice Concord grapevine that would explode with beautiful dark purple grapes that tasted like Welch’s grape juice…you know the dark purple grape juice we all had as kids. Can someone please tell me why no grape, not even ‘black’ (Concord), taste line Welch’s Concord grape juice or grape jelly? The bottle says 100 percent grape juice?!! The grapes off the lattice when I was a kid did! Well, until I find a grape that tastes like a Concord grape, and maybe even after…THIS brand of Cotton Candy Grapes are a GREAT substitute! Cotton Candy grapes at Sam’s come from South America or Africa, but this brand is from Mexico. By FAR, this brand out lasts the others and are consistently flavored; some of the other brands are hit-and-miss when it comes to flavoring, and they turn brown only a couple of days after purchasing them. This brand lasts well over 2 WEEKS in my fridge and are great when frozen, too! Perhaps the others take longer to get here because of the added distance from the sources. The ONLY problem with these beauties is they are sometimes out of stock for weeks or even a month at a time. If you love them like I do, all I can say is freeze some in anticipation of those outages and you will be set!
How do you freeze grapes, you ask? Here’s how…
Rinse your grapes and dry or let them air dry. Place them on trays or plates or anything flat with a piece of parchment paper on it…single layer is how I do it but you might be able to layer them. Place he tray into the freezer for about 20 minutes, or till frozen through; they will change in appearance from semi-translucent to opaque green like olives. Fill an air-tight plastic container with the grapes…NOT the parchment paper (it’s only to keep the grapes from sticking to the tray until they are frozen). As you can see in my photos below, I use the emptied containers from the Member’s Mark Sea Salt Caramels (they are like water to fish!). I remove the label and wash out with regular dish soap, Dawn, before using for the grapes.
Take the frozen grapes out anytime in the summer for a cold treat on hot days, or put in the fridge for an hour or two to thaw. They may not be as ‘crisp’ as they were before freezing them, but they won’t be ‘mushy’. The grapes are SWEET; after all, cotton candy is just spun sugar!! Give them a try…if you don’t like ‘sugary-sweet’ stuff you might not like them as much as I do. But if you like cotton candy or other sweets I bet the farm you will. ENJOY!